St. Jude Research

Comprehensive Cancer Center

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children.

About us

Sara Federico

Our designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center reflects leading excellence in laboratory, clinical and survivorship research, as well as leadership in education and community outreach. The center has received the highest possible score of “exceptional” in its two most recent NCI reviews. In 2022, the NCI further recognized the center by extending its grant funding period based on sustained extraordinary progress, stability, and longevity.

Director Charles W. M. Roberts, MD, PhD, a long-standing advocate of team science, leads the Center with a strong vision: To bring about a future in which every child with cancer can look forward to a long and healthy life. The Center aims to improve outcomes and understanding of pediatric cancer to benefit patients and survivors in our catchment area, and to extend these findings to the nation and the world.

woman working in a lab
Research
micheal dyer
Clinical Care
sara federico
Education & Training
micheal dyer
Community Outreach & Engagement

Leadership

Charles WM Roberts
Director

Charles W. M. Roberts, MD, PhD

Department of Oncology
Research interest: SWI/SNF (BAF) chromatin remodeling/tumor suppressor

Charles WM Roberts
Senior Deputy Director

Charles G. Mullighan, MBBS (Hons), MSc, MD

Co-Leader, Hematologic Malignancies Program
Department of Pathology
Research interests: genomics, experimental modeling and preclinical therapeutics of acute leukemia

Charles WM Roberts
Deputy Director

Suzanne J. Baker, PhD

Co-Leader, Neurobiology and Brain Tumor Program
Department of Developmental Neurobiology
Research interests: PTEN and key signaling pathways in brain tumors

Senior Leadership

  1. Heather M. Brandt, PhD

    Heather Brandt

    Heather M. Brandt, PhD

    Co-Associate Director, Outreach
    Director, HPV Cancer Prevention Program
    Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control
    Research interests: HPV vaccination; implementation science; partnered and engaged research 

  1. Hongbo Chi, PhD

    Hongbo Chi

    Hongbo Chi, PhD

    Associate Director, Basic Research
    Department of Immunology
    Research interests: immunometabolism and systems immunology

  1. Elizabeth Fox, MD, MS

    Beth Fox

    Elizabeth Fox, MD, MS

    Associate Director, Clinical Research
    Department of Oncology
    Research interests: Clinical trials

  1. Melissa M. Hudson, MD

    Melissa Hudson

    Melissa M. Hudson, MD

    Associate Director, Population Sciences
    Department of Oncology
    Research interests: health outcomes after childhood cancer

  1. Julie Park, MD

    Julie Park

    Julie Park, MD

    Associate Director, Translational Research
    Chair, Department of Oncology
    Research interests: neuroblastoma and immuno-oncology

  1. Shondra Pruett-Miller, PhD

    Shondra Pruett-Miller

    Shondra Pruett-Miller, PhD

    Associate Director, Shared Resources
    Department of Cell & Molecular Biology
    Research interests: genome-editing technologies 

  1. Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, MD

    Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo

    Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, MD

    Co-Associate Director, Outreach
    Department of Global Medicine
    Research interests: Global medicine; pediatric solid tumors

  1. Carolyn Russo, MD

    Carolyn Russo

    Carolyn Russo, MD

    Associate Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    Department of Hematology
    Research interests: palliative care, community care for pediatric hematology and oncology, supportive care

  1. Dana Wallace, MS

    Dana Wallace
    Dana Wallace, MS

    Associate Director, Administration

  1. Gerard P. Zambetti, PhD

    Gerard Zambetti

    Gerard P. Zambetti, PhD

    Associate Director, Education and Training
    Department of Biochemistry
    Research interests: p53 function in tumor suppression and tumorigenesis

Research Program Leaders

  1. Cancer Biology

    Douglas R. Green, PhD - Co-Leader, Cancer Biology Program

    Richard W. Kriwacki, PhD - Co-Leader, Cancer Biology Program

  1. Cancer Control and Survivorship

    Greg Armstrong, MD, MSCE - Co-Leader, Cancer Control and Survivorship Program

    Kirsten K. Ness, PT, PhD, FAPTA - Co-Leader, Cancer Control and Survivorship Program

  1. Developmental Biology & Solid Tumor

    Michael Dyer, PhD - Co-Leader, Developmental Biology & Solid Tumor Program

    Alberto Pappo, MD - Co-Leader, Developmental Biology & Solid Tumor Program

  1. Hematological Malignancies

    Charles G. Mullighan, MBBS (Hons), MSc, MD - Co-Leader, Hematological Malignancies Program

    Ching-Hon Pui, MD - Co-Leader, Hematological Malignancies Program

  1. Neurobiology and Brain Tumor

    Suzanne Baker, PhD - Co-Leader, Neurobiology and Brain Tumor Program

    Giles Robinson, MD - Co-Leader, Neurobiology and Brain Tumor Program

NCI-funded Shared Resources

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Explore DEI at St. Jude

An NCI-Designated Cancer Center

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Join us

St. Jude investigators have the freedom to focus on making big discoveries, backed by extraordinary resources and support teams. We are always looking for highly motivated scientists and engineers with passion and talent to join us!

Explore a career with St. Jude

We are currently recruiting!

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